What Goes Around Comes Around
by Zollercoaster
Summary: Hiatus!Only three people knew what happened to him. They were the only ones who knew what went on in that room. There was him, the one who hurt him, and the one that healed his wounds.
1. The Early Days

Okay, I had written this a while ago. I decided I might as well edit it and put it up here.

Yuki and Hatori are the stars of this show, with other significant appearances from, in order of significance, Hatsuharu, Ayame, Shigure, and Akito. Also with appearances from Kyou and Tohru.

Warning: This story may contain non-graphic rape and torture, as well as multiple love interests for Yuki and a bittersweet ending. Um… yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, although I do have a basket of fruit…

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What Goes Around Comes Around: Chapter 1

It was late evening when everything finally settled down enough for Hatori to get some work done. His attempts at completing schoolwork had been interupted by inconsequential phone calls from Shigure, who was celebrating the installation of electricity in his new house by calling everybody he knew. Hatori sighed as his pen scraped mindlessly against the paper in front of him. Sometimes he wondered why he was friends with Shigure.

Only in the quiet that accompanied the descent of darkness was he able to finally make some progress. The tedious formulas covering the paper didn't mean much in his mind, but for some reason, his ability to complete them excited everybody at school.

An undignified yawn escaped his lips, which he quickly stifled with the palm of his hand. This was hardly the time to be falling asleep. He was almost finished when he heard a thump outside his room. With a barely restrained growl, the dragon slammed his work down on the table and rose.

Judging by the noise, it was a small animal outside, or even worse, a small child. Normally he would suspect the young Momiji, but not at this hour. Hatori strode over to the door and opened it roughly. Whoever this was better have had a good reason for interupting him!

Hatori took a step off of the porch and looked around. Now where was the intruder… He really didn't have time for this kind of thing right now. The glower set in his face deepened just as he felt a tiny hand clasp his ankle. Hatori looked down; it was Yuki!

Why would the rat be in his yard at this hour? His ears picked up the sound of panting and he took another look at the boy. His eyes widened; there was blood seeping through his yukata!

"Oh damn, Yuki!" He quickly grabbed Yuki, pulled him inside, and undressed him.

"What the-?" bruises and scratches covered his chest. Hatori had no doubt that Akito had done this. He grabbed some cloth and began cleaning the wounds as well as he could. There weren't actually very many scratches, but they appeared to be from Akito's nails.

He heard a pathetic whimper escape the rat's lips before his jaw clenched and he tried to hold back his tears. Other than a black eye, the boy's face was unmarred. From the looks of it, Yuki would need care tomorrow. "I'll just have to stay home from school tomorrow." The dragon decided. He felt how tense the rat's muscles were and sighed; Akito just had to keep torturing the poor boy.

Hatori caught Yuki's gaze, and immediately, his head turned and he cast his eyes away shamefully. Hatori felt a tug at his heart, what had Akito said to the boy?

"Yuki..." he said in a voice much more calm than he felt.

As if his voice released the dam of emotions the rat was holding back, the small boy flung himself into Hatori's arms. He heard sobbing and felt tears dripping down onto his arm. With one hand on the back of Yuki's head, gently petting and comforting, the other moved down to clean his back. When he felt Yuki stiffen and hold onto him tighter, he realised the most extensive damage must be on his back.

So he let his suffering cousin hold on as much as he wanted to as he gently cleaned him, producing cloth after bloody cloth. Then he gently dislodged those small arms afrom around his waist and turned his patient around.

"Damn it!" he gasped. The dragon almost lost it when he saw Yuki's back. There was no mistaking those wounds for what they were; whip marks. He knew Akito was brutal, but this? Not even from Akito would he have expected something of this nature.

He briefly clenched his fists, restraining the flood of anger that washed over him until the moment passed. Then he clamly rubbed salve over the wounds, hoping they wouldn't scar, but at the same time knowing better.

All he could do for the boy now was heal him, keep this from the others -Yuki would be ashamed if they found out- and pray. Unfortunately, his prayers weren't anwered. A month later it happened again. It went pretty much the same as last time, Hatori tended to his wounds as he held the boy, asking no questions. This time however, Yuki spoke to him.

"Ha.. Hatori?" he said in that weak, gentle voice of his. Hatori paused, letting Yuki know he was listening. Maybe his younger cousin would open up to him. Maybe he could help him get rid of some of that emotional pain he carried around with him. There was nothing he wanted more.

"Please don't tell anyone." the boy pleaded with him instead. "I don't want anyone else to know." Hatori sighed again and resumed his actions.

"Alright Yuki, no one else will know." As much as it pained him to bear the weight of this secret, them knowing wouldn't stop it. Rather, it would only make his pain more unbearable. "I'll make sure I am always here, so nobody else will find you. Would that make you happy?"

He looked down and found shocked eyes looking back at him. "You would do that? But why... why would you throw away your freedom?" the boy questioned, now feeling guilty about what Hatori was willing to sacrifice for him.

"Because we're all trapped here, all of us are within Akito's power." Hatori told him. It was true really, none of them could ever really escape. All they could do was try to live their lives the best they could without any real freedom.

"I will become a doctor, so I can always be here to take care of you. No matter what Yuki, I will not let you be all alone." Determination made it's way into Hatori's heart. That's right, he'd never leave Yuki to suffer this alone.

With a cry Yuki flung himself into an embrace with the dragon. That's how they stayed for a long time. "I love you Hatori." Yuki sniffled. Hatori smiled and returned the sentiment.

Yes, he cared more about Yuki than even Ayame or Shigure. Nobody needeed his help more. He wasn't exactly sure why, but something in Yuki called to him. All he could do now was try to keep him safe…

The next time Hatori saw Yuki, it was under different circumstances. Part of his curse as the dragon was that he was the one required to protect their secret. He alone had the power to remove the memory of others, and as such, he alone bore the weight of the other's grief.

So when Ayame brought him the news that Yuki had transformed in front of a group of his friends, he felt the resurfacing of that burden. One by one, he visited their homes, until every one of them had forgotten.

As if erasing the memories of ones so young wasn't enough, he found Yuki waiting for him when he returned. "Hatori?" he asked quietly, his voice shaking. Fearing the worst, Hatori rushed over and knelt down by the boy's side. The injuries were there, but this time no blood had been drawn.

"What is it Yuki?" he asked, reaching for bandages. One look from those violet eyes said it all. He knew that his young cousin was grieving over the lost memory of his friends.

"Why?" the rat asked in a feeble voice, before he broke down in tears. Hatori sat there as Yuki cried onto his knee, steeling himself against the guilt.

It was at that moment that Hatori hardened his heart. Even if his friends forgot, Yuki still remembered, and he knew that nothing would ever be the same between them again.

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I suppose it's sort of short… It's a mini-story of sorts. The chapters will be shorter, and there will be no more than ten, probably less.

Anyway, this is really my first attempt at a Fruits Basket fic, so I hope it comes out well. Please review and tell me what you think!

Authors Notes:

"The tedious formulas covering the paper didn't mean much in his mind, but for some reason, his ability to complete them excited everybody at school." This was meant to imply that Hatori was a very gifted student and that he had a lot of potential.

Then later, by promising he'd become a doctor for Yuki, he's turning away from that potential.


	2. The Early Days part 2

I am aware that I haven't updated this story in a ridiculously long time, but that's all over and done with now. I decided to just post this chapter as it is, so I won't make you wait any longer…. That's assuming that you _are_ waiting. Anyway, enjoy!

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What Goes Around Comes Around: Chapter 2

Nobody ever really expects that time will pass. But just as aging is inevitable, so is the passage of time. And for Yuki, time moved on. There were scars of course, both mental and physical. But scars can be easily hidden beneath layers of fabric. Nobody ever got that close to him anyway. After all, he was the rat, Akito's plaything. What did he, the sacrifice made to distract Akito's attention, mean to anybody?

After the incident with his friends, he was forbidden to leave the "inner sanctum" as Akito liked to call it. And even a year later, he was still restricted by Akito's twisted rules. That was when he first met Haru. His cool practicality soothed the cow, and made him see reason for the first time.

There were mixed reactions when Haru declared his approval of the rat. Akito however, found some unexpected amusement in it. So, for the first time in a year, Yuki was allowed the companionship of another child. It didn't do much for Yuki except to earn him another beating when Akito grew jealous of the cow.

They had been friends for a year when that happened. And though Haru knew nothing of the incident, they were no longer allowed to see each other.

Hatori took care of Yuki, now ten years old, once again. They hadn't seen each other but for the monthly check-ups and the zodiac banquets, and Hatori was worried by the change he saw in Yuki.

Those eyes didn't cry any longer. They just looked up at Hatori silently, as if asking why this was happening. They were eyes that had accepted life as it was; eyes that were too heavy for one so young. Somehow, that made things even worse.

The apprentice doctor wasn't quite sure how to react to Yuki's change. On one hand, the boy was probably less likely to incur Akito's wrath in this state. On the other hand, Akito was destroying Yuki's mind.

Who in the zodiac wouldn't be better off in that state?

Hatori decided it wasn't his place to answer that question. He nursed the rat back to health, and then let him go again. He was forced to watch from afar as Yuki walked right back into Akito's clutches, into that endless cycle of abuse.

Nobody on the outside understood the situation as well as he. Though he was tempted to break his promise so many times, Hatori never once broke the trust that Yuki had placed in him.

He wanted Yuki to know that he was safe. The rat could give Hatori his trust, his secrets, and his whole heart, because the doctor would _never _betray him.

He'd forsake Akito before he allowed that to happen.

Two more years passed, and as far as Hatori could tell, nothing changed. That was until one day, when the doctor was passing by Akito's home. A sickening scream reached his ears; Yuki's scream. Instinctually, the dragon took off running to the rat's aid.

He found the source of the noise in a small extension of the main building. It looked to be nothing more than an abandoned room. "Feel this?" he heard Akito yelling. "This is all you will ever be good for! Everyone abandoned you here to suffer! You're meant to be with me; and only me!" Hatori clenched his fist, every vein in him screaming for him to run in there, to save Yuki from Akito's possession.

Then he heard another scream from Yuki, impossibly louder and more agonized than the first. A moment after that, there came a crash and Hatori saw the shadow of Yuki's small body slam against the screen. Then, all that could be heard was Akito's maniacal laughter.

"Don't you think that's enough Akito?" he asked softly, restraining all signs of weakness. The laughter stopped, and Akito left without a word, brushing silently past him on his way out.

Hatori couldn't fight back the shudder that came in response to Akito's unspoken malevolence.

Nevertheless, as soon as Akito was down the hall, Hatori rushed into the room. There he found Yuki, limp against the wall in the dark, empty room.

The dragon scooped the small body into his arms, trying not to aggravate the wounds visible across his pale skin, and fled with him back to his office.

"Yuki." Hatori choked, setting the unconscious boy down gently on his back. "Just what led us to this?" he sobbed, cleaning the jagged cuts covering Yuki's chest and hips.

The blood flowing from under Yuki did not cease. If those wounds on his chest weren't even contributing to the blood flow, then…

Hatori carefully turned Yuki over onto his back and nearly threw up at the sight. Just as before, the most extensive damage was on his back. And he had just stood by while Akito was doing this!? Tears flowed freely as the doctor cleaned his other wounds. "I'm sorry." He choked. "So so sorry…"

He was only an apprentice doctor, but he didn't consider himself squeamish. Yet as he cared for Yuki, Hatori began to rethink that.

It took several hours to take care of it all effectively. As he finished wrapping the final bandage, Hatori looked back up at the rat's face. It was pale in the dim light of his office, and it looked to be clenched in pain. Even unconscious, his young cousin was suffering.

There was no way he could begin to explain how helpless that made him feel.

When Yuki woke up hours later, Hatori had re-dressed him in fresh clothing. Hatori found him staring blankly at the ceiling. "Yuki?" he called softly, receiving no answer. The boy's demeanor remained apathetic as he studied the roof over his head.

Hatori moved over to the side of the bed, peering down at the twelve-year old. "Yuki?" This time, Yuki's desolate gaze shifted towards the dragon's face. It took all of Hatori's self-control not to reach out and touch him.

He would have understood sorrow in those eyes, but all he saw was a glimmer of some unrecognizable emotion. It was the kind of emotion that could prove troublesome lately; the kind of emotion that could later develop into recklessness.

"Please don't give up on us yet." He begged in his typical monotone. If Yuki couldn't rely on the rest of the zodiac, what could he do? 'I'll find him a way out of here.' Hatori though. 'I swear it.'

Moments later, Yuki was asleep. Hatori could only imagine how little sleep the rat was getting around Akito, but he seemed as comfortable as he could under the circumstances.

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Okay, so here's the question. The next part of the story is about Yuki moving in with Shigure. The one thing I haven't been able to remember, the thing that's caused this delay, is Who was responsible for Yuki's leaving the main house? Was is Hatori, Haru, or was it not even stated in the manga? I could be getting someone's fic mixed up with the actual story…

That's the only thing that's kept me from updating. So as soon as I get that information, I'll write the next chapter and start updating.


	3. The Early Days part 3

Okay, so I probably squeezed too much information into this chapter. Just to warn you, a lot of this is from vol.15 of the manga.

It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it too, but I hope everyone enjoys this anyway.

Characters: Yuki, Hatori, Akito, Ayame, Kyou, Haru, Rin, Tohru

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What Goes Around Comes Around: Chapter 3

Hatori always had the best of intentions when it came to Yuki. Unfortunately, those intentions were not always enough to protect the rat. He'd known that the moment Yuki begged him not to erase the memories of his friends.

Yet, when he was in need, Hatori was the one Yuki always went to. The doctor was his confidant, his protector, and his _friend. _So naturally, when Akito kept him locked away, Hatori was the one who gave him his check-ups.

At one point, not long after the last beating, the rat had just collapsed. Pure exhaustion, Hatori had thought. But apparently, Yuki's bronchial tube problem had returned.

The doctor was ambivalent about that revelation. Yuki was suffering, but a small part of him treasured the opportunity to be close to him. There was never a moment in which Hatori did not condemn himself for that.

It was during one of those check-ups that he learned about another aspect of Yuki's life.

He'd been surprised to see that Yuki was not suffering too badly from the confinement. When he commented on it, Yuki had looked around cautiously before leaning in to whisper to him. "It's because Haru and Rin sometimes sneak in to see me."

Hatori had been _very_ surprised. He'd known of the rat's friendship with Haru, but he hadn't been aware of its strength. That Haru cared about his little cousin enough to defy Akito… now that was something.

So the zodiac hadn't turned its back on Yuki completely. Hatori felt relieved; this meant that Yuki hadn't given up on them after all.

"And Rin comes too?" Hatori remarked curiously, not really expecting an answer.

Yuki nodded his head. "I'm not really sure why she comes, because she'll stand there without saying anything, and then she'll suddenly say 'I'm going home'." The pout in Yuki's voice was so unusually normal that Hatori almost forgot who he was talking to.

The doctor patted Yuki's head affectionately, "All finished." he said, putting his stethoscope away.

Yuki didn't seem to hear him, as he had begun staring forlornly at the ground. "Maybe… maybe it would be better if they didn't come at all." He whispered. "If Akito found out, bad things would happen."

Hatori turned toward the boy in surprise. It wasn't normal for someone's mood to change so drastically, so fast. That confirmed his worst fears; Akito's words were affecting Yuki's mind.

"What's this all of a sudden?" Hatori soothed, brushing a lone tear from Yuki's face. "Isn't it more important to have a friend by your side? As long as you aren't completely alone, that's the most important thing." It wasn't common for him to talk like this, but Hatori felt an instinctive need to protect the frail boy in any way he could.

"But if Akito finds out, then they really will hate me. And it'll be all my fault! My fault…"

"I doubt Haru would ever hate you Yuki." Hatori didn't even realize it until he said it, but he truly did believe in Haru and Yuki's friendship.

"They will, they'll hate me!" the rat exclaimed. "They'll want me to die, just like Kyou does."

"Wait, when did you meet Kyou?" This really was a conversation full of surprises.

Yuki looked up at him tearfully, and told him about the event. When he had gone back to school after his friends memories were erased, no one was there to play with him. Then when he was walking home, a red hat landed at his feet.

The hat had belonged to Kyou, and poor, innocent Yuki had held it out to him. But Kyou had exploded at the mere sight of him. He'd said some hateful words, and Yuki had cried. He had cried so much, because all he wanted was to have someone like Kyou had his master.

Hatori could understand those feelings. Yuki's family had basically sacrificed him to Akito, so he had never known that kind of love.

Then, when Yuki returned to Akito, the head of the family had reinforced those negative emotions in him. He'd told Yuki about Kyou's mother, and about how Kyou hated him. Then, he claimed that the cow also hated him.

But that was before he actually met Hatsuharu. Yuki had done his best to befriend him, and it had worked. He'd even started learning to fight at that time. They were still friends, but Yuki was worried that their fragile friendship could shatter at any moment.

Hatori carefully studied Yuki's face as he spoke. Yuki displayed very little emotion when telling this story. It was as if he had already retold it endless times in his head; so much so that it no longer brought out those terrible emotions.

"That's why… that's why he'll hate me! Because, K-Kyou said I'm rotten, and that I should just die. And-"

Hatori cut the rat off with an embrace. It was far too tragic for words.

Something else was bothering him too though. "Yuki, if you want to be with Haru so much, then why did you run away?" From what Hatori had heard, Yuki had fled the main house around that same time.

He felt Yuki slump in his arms and then pull back, looking at him with those sad, downcast eyes. "I thought that I'd do everyone a favor and disappear."

The thought of Yuki saying those words was heartbreaking. He told Hatori that even if it was only once, he wanted to do something useful. He didn't want Hatori or anyone else to feel burdened by him. Hatori felt guilt growing inside him; he'd been the cause of Yuki's suffering.

He'd had a bad cough, and Akito wanted to know, 'are you going to die?' Those words had frightened Yuki so much that he couldn't stay there.

He ran as far and as fast as he could. Yuki didn't know what he wanted, but he couldn't stand the thought of staying with Akito. He wanted to hurt himself, to suffer, to repent for all of the crimes Kyou accused him of. He wanted to repent, and he wanted to heal.

Yuki pulled his knees towards himself and clutched his heart, sobbing. "I-t hurts so much. Maybe I really am dying."

Hatori couldn't hold off any longer. He sat down and pulled Yuki into his lap, stroking him, soothing him, refusing to let him go.

It was just getting light when Yuki came across a really scary lady screaming about her missing daughter. He heard her, and he remembered passing a little girl like that while he was running. So he ran back, and he found her.

She was alone, and crying. So when she saw him, the girl started following him. At first, all he could think of was his friends, and that he couldn't get near girls. That was when he realized that at last, someone needed him.

Determined, Yuki led her back to her mother. He gave her Kyou's hat, thinking that he'd finally done something to prove that he wasn't worthless. He thought that maybe, just maybe, Akito and Kyou were wrong about him.

Since then, because of that girl, he'd become more resistant to Akito's words.

Hatori was still clutching Yuki in his arms when he fell silent, trembling.

They stayed there like that for an eternity, until Yuki finally spoke up. "The first time when I met Kyou, it was at a New Years Banquet.

"It was snowing, and I heard some servants talking about the cat. When I went outside and saw him, I tried to say hi. H-he yelled at me, and said that I was rotten. He said I should just do everyone a favor and die!

"Then he ran away, so I found mother. I tried to ask her about what Kyou said, but she was really angry. She hit me, and she told me to go back to Akito.

"I know it was wrong, but I was scared. I wanted someone to help me, anyone. I didn't know where Hatori was," Yuki paused and grabbed one of the doctor's arms. "So when I saw that boy, the one who Akito said was my brother, I reached out to him instead.

"I know I'm bad, but I don't like Akito! When I tried to ask for help, my brother didn't care. Those eyes didn't care!"

Yuki broke down sobbing against Hatori's chest as a smoldering anger built in Hatori. The doctor couldn't believe that Ayame had caused Yuki such grief. If only he had known, if he had been there…

But he wasn't, and Yuki was beaten. Hatori remembered that part quite vividly. That was when he vowed to become a doctor. In order to protect this small, frail boy, Hatori would do anything.

As he sat there with Yuki through the night, Hatori couldn't help but wonder. There was no love involved, so just why was it that Akito had done that to Yuki a few weeks ago?

That time, Hatori had been passing by. But he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky next time something like that happened.

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Okay, so Yuki will actually be moving next chapter. I decided to add all of those events in flashback mode because I realized that my timeline was all screwed up. Why couldn't I just do the flashbacks in chronological order!?

So here's a sort of outline of it:

1)The first time Akito snaps and beats Yuki

2)A month later, when Yuki runs off to find his mom and meets Kyou at the banquet, Akito beats him and Hatori decides to become a doctor

3)Yuki picks up Kyou's hat and falls ill after his friends' memories are erased

4)Yuki runs away and meets Tohru

5)A year or so later when Akito gets jealous of Haru, Yuki is beaten the third time

6)2 years later, Hatori saves Yuki from Akito (the reason for that one comes out next chapter)

7)Yuki collapses a few weeks later and this chapter occurs...

Well, outlining it helped _me_ anyway. I await your reviews everybody!


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